A very, very Happy New Year to everyone!

Let us all welcome 2010, the start of the new decade and the year of The Metal Tiger. Rawr!

I spent New Year’s Eve and the wee morning hours of 1st January 2010 at Jetz Grill in Qurum, where I won lots of prizes from various fun games. In fact, I still say that my partner and I are the undisputed champions of the Apple Dance Competition, hands down!

Before having the masarap buffet dinner of classic Filipino fiesta treats, I dropped by Ruwi for a bit of shopping. There were a lot of stores with year-end sales and I got excellent bargains, particularly with (fake) Lacoste sports shirts.

I found this colorful and cute Pokemon Pikachu watch in one of the timepiece shops near Al Fair Ruwi. I got a discounted price for this when I bought a pink Snoopy watch along with it. Of course, I now wear my Pika-watch everywhere. Be very envious!

Pika! Pika! Pika! My first ever Pokemon watch, can you believe it?

All together now: Pika! Pika!

I first encountered a unique shade of faux snakeskin back in April 2008 while I was shopping for clothes for a trip to Bahrain. It was light, brownish peach, with black patterns.

The fake snakeskin pattern was on a handbag, shiny-new back then on the shelves of Muscat City Centre’s Mango shop. I found the color scheme, design and overall look of the bag so gorgeous and unique that I shelled out 15 Omani Riyals (around 40 US Dollars) for the item. Naturally, it was my staple accessory during the said Bahrain trip.

Late last May, more than a year after I made my purchase of love at Mango, I found a wallet on display at Muscat City Centre Centrepoint‘s Splash store. It was in exactly the same pattern as my handbag, which surprised and delighted me to no end.

The wallet was not from Mango, but Paprika (a bit lower on the fashionista‘s fabulousness scale than the former). However, both the bag and wallet looked so irresistibly coordinated.

Thus, a shopping expedition was in order as soon as I received my paycheck. My acquisition mission was set for Thursday, 4th June 2009.

Shi with Mango snakeskin handbag, posing in Mark’s & Spencer after watching Push at Markaz Al Bahja. The top is a gift from my friend Grace’s UK holiday, while the leggings are Adidas. The princessy golden sandals are from Muscat Fashions in Ruwi!

Mango snakeskin bag, purchased in April 2009

Paprika snakeskin wallet with golden buckle lock, purchased 4th June 2009 for 5 Omani Riyals (around 14 US Dollars)

Exterior of the Paprika snakeskin wallet

Interior of the Paprika snakeskin wallet, a matching peach-toned faux leather

The snakeskin bag and wallet – together at last!

What can I say, even in the ever-changing world of fashion, there are matches made in heaven, by different brands.

The blue sky must be forever tall and forever clear. That’s the way the world should be.

~ Gentatsu Takatsuki, in conversation with Shigure Takimi, Rurouni Kenshin: Ishin Shishi no Requiem

I was able to meet my longtime friends Genefel and Melody at SM Megamall last Wednesday night for a good old gabfest over hot and cold cups of Starbucks java.

We talked straight for three hours and would have continued until dawn. However, I had to get back to my hotel to prepare for my early morning flight while Gen and Mel both had work the day after.

They gave me the most amazing metal chandelier earrings adorned with glittery crystals. Arigatou gozaimasu again!

I arrived from Metro Manila on Thursday, following a quick, uneventful airplane journey.

The moment I got home, I could not help but immediately pop my newly acquired copy of Rurouni Kenshin: Ishin Shishi no Requiem (Requiem for the Ishin Patriots) into my VCD player.

The movie has a simple, straightforward story that would be appreciated even by someone who is not familiar with the Rurouni Kenshin mythos.

I absolutely loved the charismatic and noble Shigure Takimi, one of the movie’s central characters and arguably Ishin Shishi‘s primary driving force.

His noble warrior’s philosophy and driven, staunchly patriotic character reminded me very much of Katsumoto, brilliantly portrayed by Ken Watanabe, from the 2003 Tom Cruise starrer The Last Samurai.

Yesterday evening, I received an e-mail from the organizers of the National Novel Writing Month that I have been officially accepted and listed as a participant.

NaNoWriMo 2005 will be my first year in the project, so I am really looking forward to all the novel-writing excitement and mania that will ensue when November rolls about.

My parents and I are going to the town of Concepcion early tomorrow morning to visit my maternal grandparents.

They live in the barangay of Nino, which, all in all, is a good three hours away from Iloilo City. I am so looking forward to seeing Lolo and Lola again, after almost a year.

I am grateful that it rained tonight. This will make the roads far less dusty than usual, and that is a very good thing as we will be using an open-window jeepney for transport.

It is quite fun to travel long distances via jeepney because it really makes you appreciate and savor the entire concept of completing the journey from one place to the other.

Over the past 24 hours, I finished the second and third installments of Sophie Kinsella‘s Shopaholic series, Shopaholic Takes Manhattan and Shopaholic Ties the Knot.

These books were both fun romps, but I have to say that I still love Confessions of a Shopaholic best. It goes without saying that I plan to get the fourth book, Shopaholic and Sister, the next time I go to the mall.

Never mind that I go to the bookstore practically everyday, just to make sure that I get first dibs on Dan Brown‘s Digital Fortress the very moment it hits the shelves. It is left as the only Brown book I have yet to read.

In additio, have I mentioned that I have actually made a down payment on my reservation of the sixth Harry Potter book a week ago?

Here is a description of the second Shopaholic book from Amazon.com:

In this sequel to Kinsella’s bestselling Confessions of a Shopaholic, Becky Bloomwood, a personal finance “expert” with her own TV show, is more of a financial mess than ever: she can’t stop shopping, even though she can’t afford anything.

She’s even assigned her flatmate, Suze, to monitor her spending, but to no avail: Becky is full of cute rationalizations, like “Foreign money doesn’t count, so you can spend as much as you like,” and can’t stop herself from sneaking into posh boutiques.

Her work-obsessed boyfriend, Luke, runs a financial PR agency, and when he gets the green light to open an office in New York City, he brings Becky along.

Upon her arrival in the Big Apple, she euphorically discovers Barney’s, Saks, Sephora and sample sales but when wind of her shopping excesses gets back to the British press, she loses both her relationship and her TV job.

This meme was shared by a friend. Go ahead and try it yourself.

Instructions
1. Enter “(your name here) needs” in a Google search.
2. Read through the link descriptions, looking for those that actually form a sentence.
3. Post the first 15 results.
4. Enjoy!

· Shirley needs the Holistic approach.
· Shirley needs help.
· Shirley needs a dollar.
· Shirley needs overhauling.
· Shirley needs Supreme Court Reporter v.44.
· Shirley needs me.
· Shirley needs advice.
· Shirley needs the public to escape depression.
· Shirley needs love.
· Shirley needs more spells.
· Shirley needs the following: any donated items; volunteers to help with sales, inventory and pricing items; and help designing and distributing fliers.
· Shirley needs to be on the thoroughfare between the development and the car park.
· Shirley needs to remain free.
· Shirley needs more sand.
· Shirley needs Harvard.

I have just finished Sophie Kinsella‘s Confessions of a Shopaholic, which I got on paperback (contodos 20-percent Laking National discount) yesterday during my Graduate School lunch break.

The book is light and spirited, with a few emotional chords here and there. Overall, it is definitely chick lit. I highly recommend Confessions to those who want to experience unadulterated extravagant fun. Pun intended.

Amazon.com provides the following book summary:

At age 25, Rebecca Bloomwood has everything she wants. Or does she?

Can her career as a financial journalist, a fab flat and a closet full of designer clothes lessen the blow of the dunning letters from credit card companies and banks that have been arriving too quickly to be contained by the drawer in which Rebecca hides them?

Although her romantic entanglements tend toward the superficial, there is that wonderful Luke Brandon of Brandon Communications: handsome, intelligent, the 31st-richest bachelor according to Harper’s and actually possessed of a personality that is more substance than style. Too bad that Rebecca blows it whenever their paths cross.

Will Rebecca learn to stop shopping before she loses everything worthwhile?

When faced with the opportunity to do good for others and impress Luke, will she finally measure up?

In the name of God, impure souls of the living dead shall be banished into eternal Damnation. Amen.

Right now, I am at Netopia in SM Megamall, Ortigas, Metro Manila. The place is so bloody cold. I am also as hungry as hell, so it is all good.

I have been in the big city since Wednesday. Most of my free time I spend here at Megamall, because I just love the place, the activity, and the sheer anonymity that the space affords me.

Anyway, I went to Comic Quest (located at the Lower Ground level same as this Internet cafe) and was able to purchase all 13 episodes of the Hellsing anime series. I am a pleased little vampire.

I am going back to barracks tomorrow afternoon, on the 3:20 PM flight.

As time is of the essence, I might as well get my freezing buns off this light metal chair and get some serious shopping done.

Here is the Amazon.com product description for the Hellsing anime:

The worst enemy of the night is one of its own. A secret war brews in the night – a war where humanity is only a pawn.

The Hellsing Organization deploys in the shadows to protect the mortal world. But now, artificially spawned vampires have appeared, forcing Hellsing to call in their ultimate weapon – the rogue vampire, Alucard!

After he transforms the dying Seras Victoria into a vampire, they join forces to combat the undead army, as well as her own newfound hunger!